164 The Mystery Of The Mother Wolf Page 11
into the sky from a stone chimney. Two rambling
wooden barns stretched out in back, surrounded by a
large, fenced-in paddock.
Nancy backed the snowmobile into a cluster of pine
trees on the fringe of the forest. Then she cut the
motor, and the headlight went off.
The moon bathed the valley in a silvery glow, and
Nancy and George had no trouble seeing their way
down the hill to the nearest barn. Once there, they slid
open a door and peered inside.
Before Nancy's eyes completely adjusted to the dark
interior, she was aware of a mass of creatures standing
in rows, gently bobbing their heads. When a soft
mooing noise broke the silence, George said, “It's just a
bunch of cows.”
Nancy motioned her inside. “Let's see whether
there's a smaller room where Rainbow might be.”
An outside floodlight cast a dim glow through the
barn windows—enough for the girls to see by. But after
several minutes of searching, they'd turned up no
clues. “Let's check out the other bam,” Nancy sug-
gested, leading the way back outside.
The second barn—filled with horses quietly munch-
ing—also yielded no evidence that either Rainbow or
Ross had been there.
“What now?” George asked as they stood in the
horse barn, frustrated. “The house?”
“You bet,” Nancy said. “Even if we can't find Rain-
bow, Ross must be around—unless we somehow
missed him on the trail.”
Nancy and George slipped back outside and
rounded the corner of the barn toward the house. Then
they stopped in surprise.
Ross's snowmobile was parked against the side wall
of the barn.
“He's here!” Nancy whispered. “We just couldn't see
his snowmobile because the barn was in the way.”
Nancy gazed toward the house and recognized Mrs.
Stevenson's pickup truck parked nearby. “Mrs.
Stevenson's here, too,” Nancy said, pointing. “If Ross
took Rainbow and is keeping her at Coyote Corners, I
wonder if Mrs. Stevenson knows.”
“Let's go find out,” George said, squaring her
shoulders as she and Nancy headed toward a side door
of the house.
A few moments later, the girls found themselves
inside a large, cheery kitchen, where a large pot
bubbled on the stove. “Mmm,” Nancy whispered.
“Something smells really good.”
“Lentil soup,” George announced, lifting the lid and
peering inside. “Boy, am I starved! Are we allowed to
take a dinner break?” she joked.
Nancy grinned—and then she heard voices. “Shh,
George, someone's coming!” She pulled George
toward a narrow flight of stairs at the rear of the
kitchen. Then they dashed upstairs.
The girls found themselves in a spacious hallway
decorated with old family portraits, including one of a
beautiful young woman with blond hair and turquoise
eyes that stared imperiously out at the world. “I bet
that's Mrs. Stevenson,” George said. “She's gorgeous,
but she looks land of spoiled, if you ask me.”
Nancy's mind was already leaping ahead to the
single closed door off the hallway. “Look, George, all
the other doors are open except that one. Let's check
in there first.”
Opening the door a crack, Nancy peeked inside.
A thrill went through her. Rainbow lay in a corner
pen, happily nursing her five pups.
Rainbow looked up warily at her two visitors. Just as
the girls were about to enter the room, a doorbell rang
shrilly through the house.
Nancy and George exchanged startled glances.
Footsteps shuffled downstairs, and then the front door
creaked open.
“Hello, Stella, my dear!” a man's voice boomed.
“Where is that cute little wolf pup you've sold me?”
15. Member of the Pack
Footsteps hurried upstairs.
“What do we do now?” George asked. “We can't
hide in the bedroom because of Rainbow. She's
probably feeling protective about her puppies.”
“In here, quick!” Nancy murmured, slipping into an
adjacent bedroom, where an inside door connected to
Rainbows room.
Nancy crouched by the keyhole of the connecting
door and peered through it. “Oh no!” she cried,
drawing back. “Ross is aiming a stun gun at Rainbow.”
Nancy looked again, her body shaking. As she
watched Ross's finger tighten around the trigger,
Rainbow suddenly leaped up, baring her teeth as she
desperately tried to shield her pups.
Nancy couldn't stand it another moment. Without
thinking of the consequences, she burst through the
door and charged at Ross.
Ross was shocked as Nancy ran at him. But before
he could react, Nancy lunged forward and karate-
kicked his hand.
The stun gun flew out and skidded across the floor.
Surprised for only a moment, Ross stalked toward
Nancy, punching angrily at the air with clenched fists.
“You nosy girl detective!” he growled. “Just wait till I'm
through with you.”
There was a flicker of movement behind Ross, and
Nancy's gaze darted in that direction. Standing in the
doorway were Stella Stevenson and a man whom
Nancy didn't recognize.
Mrs. Stevenson leaned into the room and grabbed a
lamp resting on a night table. With a ferocious tug, she
yanked its electrical cord out of the socket. Then she
held the lamp up high. “Don't worry, Ross,” she said.
“I'm here to back you up.”
To Nancy's surprise, George appeared in the hall
behind Ross and Mrs. Stevenson. Without even glanc-
ing at Nancy, she leaned toward the stranger and
whispered in his ear.
Nancy threw George a questioning look. George
must have sneaked around through the hallway door so
Ross and Mrs. Stevenson wouldn't see her, Nancy
guessed. But what was she whispering to that man?
The man's face turned pale as he stared at George,
aghast. Then he turned and bolted out of view.
Ross's fist shot toward Nancy's shoulder, and her
attention swung back to him. He aimed another punch,
and she scrambled backward, tripping over the edge of
a rug.
As Nancy stumbled to the floor, her gaze flew to
Mrs. Stevenson. The old lady ran at her, the porcelain
lamp held high. A second later Mrs. Stevenson
whipped the lamp down toward Nancy's head.
Nancy ducked, putting up her hands to shield
herself. She knew she didn't have time to get out of the
way. Crouching, her hands curled over her head,
Nancy expected to feel sharp porcelain biting into her
skin at any second.
Nothing happened, though. Nancy glanced up to see
George grabbing the lamp in midswing. With a firm
twist, George yanked it out of the old lady's clawlike
hands.
“Thank
you, George!” Nancy cried, springing to her
feet. Without wasting a moment, Nancy karate-kicked
Ross hard. He fell to the floor, clutching his stomach
and gasping for air.
“You knocked the wind out of him, you horrible
girl!” Mrs. Stevenson cried.
Ross sat up and glared murderously at Nancy from
under thick, dark brows. Then he staggered to his feet,
charging her like a football tackle.
An ominous growl erupted. Cowering in front of her
puppies, Rainbow barked, her long sharp white teeth
bared at Ross as he approached Nancy. “She's warning
you to lay off,” George said.
“As if I care!” Ross snarled. But he stopped and
looked at the mother wolf warily, with a mixture of
annoyance and grudging respect.
Mrs. Stevenson suddenly dipped to the floor and
snatched something from under a chair. “The game is
over!” she crowed, triumphantly brandishing the stun
gun.
Before Nancy and George could react, Mrs.
Stevenson had the gun jabbed against Nancy's neck.
“Don't worry, my dear. We're going to take a little
walk.” She spoke softly, in the same tone a grand-
mother might use to soothe a child. “You and your
friend are coming down the stairs with me.”
“Move it, Nancy!” Ross commanded. “Listen to the
lady! Out of the room, now. And your friend, too. What
d'ya say her name was—George? That's no name for a
girl.” He chuckled snidely.
“Mind your own business,” Nancy said, but she
raised her arms in surrender as Mrs. Stevenson kept
the gun pressed against her neck.
“You, too, George dear,” Mrs. Stevenson said in the
same falsely gentle tone she had used before, “because
if you don't, I'll shoot your friend with a dart.”
Nancy flinched at the cold metal against her neck as
Mrs. Stevenson and Ross marched her and George into
the hall. Nancy remembered that Mrs. Stevenson had
arthritis and couldn't always control and coordinate her
movements. I hope she doesn't fire this thing by
mistake, Nancy thought grimly.
Ross closed the door on Rainbow and her puppies
before helping Mrs. Stevenson usher the girls down-
stairs. Once there, Mrs. Stevenson lowered the gun.
“I've decided not to risk tranquilizing you unless you
misbehave,” Mrs. Stevenson said. “See, I've arranged a
little meeting for you girls, and I'd rather have you be
awake to enjoy it.” To Ross, she ordered, “Put these
lads in the cave so they won't meddle with my plans
again.”
“The bear cave?” Ross asked, shocked.
“Yup,” Mrs. Stevenson said gleefully. “If the hiber-
nating bear doesn't get them, they will starve. Now get
the rope, Ross, and don't let me see any signs of
sympathy from you.”
“Yes, Mrs. Stevenson,” Ross muttered as he sidled
over to a chest of drawers. After rummaging in it for a
moment, he returned with a length of rope and started
to bind Nancy's and George's hands behind them.
“So whose idea was it to steal Rainbow and her
puppies?” George asked as Ross worked away.
Nancy shot George a curious look. She's obviously
trying to stall them, Nancy thought, because Mrs.
Stevenson already hinted it was her idea.
“Of course it was my idea,” Mrs. Stevenson said
grandly. “I thought of the plan because wolfdog breeds
fetch high prices—much higher than most dog
breeds.”
Nancy frowned, gazing around at the grand old
house with its opulent furniture. “But why would you
need the money?” she asked.
“Because my husband recently died, and he left a bit
of his money to his kids from an earlier marriage,” Mrs.
Stevenson explained. She narrowed her eyes, as if
pained by the thought of any of her inheritance going
to someone else. “I must admit I have plenty of money
for the basics—my beautiful house, clothes, jewelry,
furs, restaurant dinners, fine wines, and trips to
Europe. But I have my heart set on something more,
and I couldn't make my money stretch far enough for
it.”
“What could be better than going to Europe and
owning a beautiful house?” George asked.
“An African safari,” Mrs. Stevenson said. “They're
terribly expensive, you know.”
“So you stole a mother wolf and her defenseless
puppies just so you could go on a trip?” Nancy asked.
Mrs. Stevenson waved her hand dismissively. “I was
planning to return Rainbow to John and Alice after the
puppies were weaned. I only wanted Rainbow so she
could nurse them.”
“But just because you were going to return her
doesn't make stealing her okay,” George said. “Plus,
you took the puppies for good, and you put the Mar-
shall through all this grief.”
Mrs. Stevenson sighed. “They'll get over it.”
“Don't you care about your grandson's feelings?”
Nancy asked. “He was upset about the missing wolves,
too.”
“Paul will never know I masterminded this plan,
because you and George won't be around to tell him,”
Mrs. Stevenson said. “He'll still love me as much as he
ever did.”
George and Nancy traded shocked glances. I can't
believe how totally selfish Mrs. Stevenson is, Nancy
thought.
“I have a question,” George said to Ross as he fin-
ished tying her hands. “Why didn't you take the pup-
pies the same night you stole Rainbow?”
“Because I only had time to grab Rainbow before
Jenny ran into the room,” Ross explained. “By the way,
you girls almost caught me with the puppies after I'd
just snatched them. They were hidden in my truck
while I went into the barn to get my keys. I was about
to drive them over here.”
“So when did you lose your Swiss army knife?”
Nancy asked.
“The night before I took Rainbow,” Ross replied.
“See, I came in that night to kidnap her and the
puppies, but she and Grover barked when they saw
me, so I realized I'd have to tranquilize them. I was
sneaking around the house, looking for Paul's room. I
knew he had a stun gun. But then I saw a light under
one of the bedroom doors, and I decided my plan was
too risky. So I borrowed Mrs. Stevenson's stun gun the
next day.” He shrugged, adding, “My pocket had a hole
in it, and my knife must have dropped out.”
“Did you fix the chairlift so we'd get stuck?” George
asked.
“I did indeed,” Ross said proudly. “I called the lift
operator on my cell phone and told him that the last
occupied chair was number fifty—about thirty chairs
before yours. Then I cut the phone wire so his partner
couldn't set him straight. I was hoping Nancy might
freeze and butt out of my business.”
“But how
did you know I was investigating the
case?” Nancy asked.
“That's a good one!” Ross exclaimed. “See, Mrs.
Stevenson learned you were investigating the case from
Paul. Of course, Paul didn't realize that his
grandmother was the last person he should have given
that information to.”
“The Marshalls were blabbing about your wonderful
detective work, and he overheard,” Mrs. Stevenson
explained.
George shot Ross a level look. “So did you mess up
the dogsled harness?” she asked.
“I cut the rein,” Ross admitted. “I cut it so it would
snap when you guys went out. You were all getting to
be nuisances—investigating here, snooping around
there—and I wanted you out of the way. I knew it was
only a matter of time before you found us out.”
“What about the note on the elk's antler? Did you
write it?” Nancy asked.
Ross frowned. “What note? What antler? I don't
know what you mean. You can't blame everything on
me.”
Nancy studied Ross's eyes, which looked completely
blank. I think he's telling me the truth, she decided.
“Enough of this chitchat,” Mrs. Stevenson snapped,
taking aim with the stun gun again. “It's getting late,
and you girls have a date with a bear.”
Mrs. Stevenson and Ross marched the girls outside.
But as they began to walk toward the woods, a siren
suddenly blared from out of nowhere.
Everyone jumped and immediately turned toward
the noise.
A police car was peeling up the driveway, its red
lights flashing. As everyone froze in the headlights, it
screeched to a stop. Four police officers jumped out.
“Stella Stevenson and Ross Minkowski, you're under
arrest for kidnapping and assault!” the first officer
announced. “Don't argue with me. The evidence of
your crime is right before my eyes.” He nodded toward
Nancy's and George's bound hands and the stun gun
that Mrs. Stevenson still held against Nancy's neck.
Mrs. Stevenson lowered her gun, the fire suddenly
ebbing from her fierce blue eyes. “I just don't want
Paul to know about me,” she murmured.
“Then you shouldn't have committed a crime,” the
officer retorted as he handcuffed his two prisoners.
Meanwhile, another officer cut the ropes on the girls'
wrists.
Once free, Nancy and George thanked the officers
profusely for rescuing them. Shaking her wrists to get